The first-production Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, a.k.a. the fastest and most powerful Corvette in history, went up for auction at the Barrett-Jackson event over the weekend. Based on how much previous first-production Corvettes fetched in similar auction settings — the first-production Corvette Z06, for example, sold for $800,000 — we expected the ‘Vette ZR1 to sell in the neighborhood of $1 million. It never reached that amount, but we were still pretty close because the first-production ZR1 sold for a whopping $925,000.

“The first-production ZR1 sold for a whopping $925,000.”

Special variants of the Chevrolet Corvette are fetching ridiculous prices in auctions these days. In addition to the first-production Z06 and ZR1 models, first-production units of the coupe and convertible versions of the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray sold for $1.05 million and $1 million, respectively.

That’s a lot of money to be putting on cars that traditionally cost somewhere in the vicinity of $100,000 to $150,000. But that’s the appeal of the Corvette in the collectible market. Buyers pay millions for these first-production units because they know that the value of these cars could skyrocket under the right conditions. It could be true for the Corvette ZR1, especially if it retains its status as the fastest and most powerful Corvette in history. The provenance attached to a model of this caliber would be enough to see its price go through the roof.

“All the proceeds from that sale will go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its Building for America's Bravest program”

As surprising as it is for some people to see first-production Corvettes fetch close to seven figures, there is another aspect about these auctions that we can’t forget. Proceeds from these sales traditionally go to organizations that champion worthy causes. In the case of the ‘Vette ZR1, all the proceeds from that sale will go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its Building for America’s Bravest program. For those who are unfamiliar with the foundation’s work, the Siller family started it to honor the memory of their family member, Stephen Siller, who lost his life on Sept. 11, 2011, as a New York City firefighter. Part of the foundation’s mission is to build smart homes for catastrophically injured service members returning home and first responders.